Process of separating copper from nickel and matte and other products.



barren earner enrich H'QAK VICTOR HYBINEITE, (H? CHRZIS'EFIAETSAND; 31 GRN AY, ASSIGNOH, BY ZVEESNE ASSIGNMENTS, L1 8 NATIONAL CUMEANY LIMITED, F TORONTO, CANADA.

YEQGEfiS GP SEPAEZQTING' COPPERFROM NICKEL AND IVIATTE AND QTHER PIEUDUCTS.

Ho Drawing.

T aZZ whom may concern:

Be it known that I, "NOAH VICTOR HYBI- XEITE, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at ilhristiansand S, Norway, have invented certain new and useful Imn'ovemcnts in Processes of Se aratin D Copper from Nickel and Matte and other Products; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the'invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention has for its object a process of separating copper and nickel.

In the United States patent granted to me November 28th, 1905, No. 805,969, I have described a process of refining coppernickei matte, according to Which the matte W I I is roastechleached, smelted and cast into anodes and also into slabs for cementation nickel by cementation, which comprises subjecting a slab of high grade copper-nickel matte to electrolytic action as an anode and then depositing on said slab, by cementation,

of copper from the electrolyte containing nickel and copper 1n the form of sulfate,

thereby regenerating such electrolyte in.

' nickel in the form of suliate'of nickel, the

copper replacing the nickel of the slabs.

The ceinentation of copper from the elec trolyte is, under ordinary conditions, impracticable with a metal slab containing -'48% sulfur. Even when "using a copper nickel alloy free from sulfur, carbon and silicon (as in my patent above referred to) I prefer to carry out the last )art of the cemeutation on pure nickel. w have now found that this cementation is possible, and can be carried to completion in one opera tion by the use of slabs of nickelcopper containing i8% sulfur; that is, slabs cast from a blast furnace and of the same composition as the anodes used iiranotber part of the, process described in said patent, provided that these slabs have been previously used as anodes in a nickel plating tank, and

' thereby the surface prepared in such a way specification of Letters Patent.

nickel, which comprises su containing copper, nickel and sulfur to elec- 75 trolytic action as an anode to prepare its surface, and ther r depositing on saidslab, by coinentation, copper from a solution; containing copper and nickel sulfate, and sir multaneously enriching the solution in-80 nickel content from the nickel in the slab that has been replaced by the copper.

racem s Feb, in, 3915.

Application, filed June 5, 1912. Serial No. 701,780.

under these conditions and not on a fresh cast surface depends probably upon the fact that when a fresh cast surface. is subjected to ccmcntation there is formed thereon a coherent, sheet of metallic copper, or skin, 5 which partly, at least, prevents further cementation, whereas a surface previously used as an anode in an electrolytic bath has a porous or etched surface covered by slimes of metal and sulfids, whereby the copper is deposited on top of these slirnes, or mixes with them, and comes down on the slab as a spongy mass, through which the solution can percolate. The spongy mass on the surface stands in metallic contact withthe solid part of the slab, and may also be said to help the cementation simply by the larger surface which it presents. v

I claim 1. Process of separating copper and 2. Process of separatin copper and bgectlng a slab In testimony that I claim the foregoing as invention, I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

NOAK VICTOR il1YBINE'IYFE.

Witnesses i M. GUTTOBMSEN, 0. MILLER. I 

